Thursday: (2 hours) Light testing, made some small paper scales to layer the Jelly, supplies replenished

Friday: (2 hours) Photography

Process:

Now that the ash wood armature is completed, the next step was to start folding. I sketched out what I was thinking the creature would look, but as time went on I came across a few challenges with trying to build parts like the tendrils. Because of the limitations paper has when it comes to folding I was forced to make adjustments where I won't get the exact tendril appearance, but with careful thought I can achieve what I want.

What I’ve accomplished/discovered/ encountered:

The part of the inner dome structure that will hold the long tendrils -- I made a wire frame just to see what it would look like.

Small drafts of what I was thinking of making the inside dome portion (The Heart and Brain of the Jelly)

The drawing on the left -- is what I imagined originally, but the right side is an actual sketch of what the installation ended up looking like after starting to work (And some major adjustments because I'm folding paper and therefore I cannot achieve what I want in some cases). In all honestly it looks so much better than the first sketch.

So this week a lot has been accomplished, but there is a ton of problem solving I need to think about:

How to transport the piece from Stamps to the gallery space

how to display and hang it

how to light it and minimalize the visablity of the cords for the florscenct bulbs

keeping the bulb centered inside with fishing line

mutting the brightness of the light inside by covering the bulb with a heat resistant material and maintaining a safe atmosphere

When I get to the gallery and attach the modules together by composing a separate piece that will be torn each time I am required to move my installation. Chances are I will be 85% done and by the time I have to get my work into a gallery space I will have to complete the rest there (Setting up lights, problem solving any electrical issues, hanging, and combining module pieces together)

A scale Lauren Korany placed on top -- an idea I didn't think about until now. Thanks Lauren!

Inside the belly of the beast!

Taken in Half light -- half lit Jelly form.

Light shining on top rather than inside

Lit on the inside with Tyvek covering the lightbulb. The lightbulb is really dense and allows everyone to "see" everything. Let alone it's too bright and allows for no shadows to develop in the folds.

Some other things I've been thinking about is how to display my piece. Rather than have a single installation, I would really like to display my sketches and today in small group it was suggusted that I compose a mini journal with my notes and discoveries found while learning about the Siphonophore and plants I was studying this year. I would scan my sketches, clean them up in photoshop, and print on colored paper (Like brown, cream, or sepia to represent the aged journals early explorers kept when they first explored a new world. Though IP I followed a similar experience and naturally it makes the most sense to document and display my personal research to show how much began to develop a love for mysterious deep sea creatures. I'm thinking about having the Jelly near a window for natural lighting so less light is involved on the inside, but there is something really magical about seeing this creature in a darker space as the major source of light. In the studio light the creature is completely different when lit in a dark room -- and I feel when I reach that point my creature shows it's true intent. It becomes the creature I've been visualizing all year. It's weird, because over the semester I had this "idea," but I wasn't able to completely visualize it. When I sat down and constructed the Jelly creature by folding paper I took my time playing with various types of folding. I never had a set plan because I wanted my imagination to kick in and take over my process -- and right now that is exactly how I feel about the situation.

Possible titles for my piece:

Symbiosis (First choice) -- Spending a year thinking and working alongside my Jellies.

Imagiphora creatutica -- A scientific name of some sort

Evolution of the Imagination

Biological Evolution

Evolve

Bioluminescence

Artist's statement:

I'm not sure what I will write, but I want to highlight my experience of growing with this creature for a good portion of the year. I did a ton of research, and even eventually started spending quality time with my creature (Eating next to it, taking a nap under it, reading and sketching near it even if it was completely unrelated) I developed a relationship and love for my Siphonophore so much that I even dreamt about it. We co-exist as human being and creature and though this creature is inspired by Jellies, flora, and deep sea creatures, it is a product of my imagination and an emotional response to nature and it's entirety. Nature is a constant inspiration and I'm amazing at the life products it produces. There is life everywhere and life evolves and expands when it resides in a place unscathed. A large creature is difficult to see in person and even harder to believe when it's an animal that has existed all our lives, but never known it's existance. It's not a bad thing at all however, because the creature is allowed to grow and through it's growth, or evolution, the creature lives a fulfilling life. The evolution of larger body size is that rapid rates of increase that are often seen over relatively short time intervals are not sustainable over much longer time periods. Their existence is a timeline of what nature's true beauty is when untouched.

What I should do next:

KEEP BUILDING! Photoshop sketches and print on nice paper and think of how to display this all together. Lighting problem solving. This is going to get donnnnne!